The present invention relates to a fermented beverage with beer wort base.
It also relates to a method for preparing a fermented beverage with beer wort base.
It finally relates to a use of compounds for enhancing some of the qualities of fermented beverages.
Generally, the preparation of a Pils-type beer uses a series of steps designed to obtain a beer which is as clear as possible. These various steps comprise in particular precipitation, adsorption, centrifugation and filtration of the beer wort. Pils-type beers are then considered as being colloidally stable when they no longer develop any haze at the end of their preparation cycle and during their storage.
In contrast to Pils-type beers, in order to be liked by the consumer, some special beers have the main characteristic of exhibiting, at the time of their consumption, a haze which is abundant and persistent to a greater or lesser degree and which gives them the appearance of an unfiltered beer and confers on them a nonindustrial and natural character.
In these type of beers, the haze is generally due to the presence of yeasts, of suspended particles, mainly proteins, which may be very different in size and compositions. Indeed, the main fraction of the suspension depends on the method of preparation and the conditions for storing the finished beer, especially on the prior duration of decantation and on the temperature at which it is carried out.
Two main types of haze are generally distinguishable according to their behaviour as a function of the temperature.
The first type corresponds to so-called irreversible hazes which remain after heating the beer to a temperature of the order of 15° C. The main particles encountered in irreversible hazes are especially yeasts, protein or starch particles and oxalate crystals.
The second type corresponds to the so-called reversible hazes which form during cooling of the beer to the temperature for consumption, generally less than about 12° C., and which disappear completely or partially with heating of the beer. Reversible haze mainly consists of proteins and polyphenols.
After preparation, most of the hazes encountered in beers tend to sediment during storage, finally giving a beer which is clarified to a greater or lesser degree as well as a deposit.
This deposit can be resuspended by shaking at the time the beer is served, so as to again obtain a beverage having an adequate haze.
It can be easily understood, however, that such a way of operating is not systematically observed by the consumer.
It is therefore important for the brewer to be able to offer a beer having a haze of good quality and capable of persisting, at least until the beer is consumed, without the need for a specific operation by the consumer.
A method is known from WO 96/04363 for improving the stability of the foam produced by some beverages such as beer, consisting in adding one or more pectins during or after the process of preparing such a beverage.
It is also known that other polysaccharides have the same property, for example gums or modified starches or cellulose derivatives.
It is also known that the addition of a carrageenan to a hot wort stimulates the coagulation of the soluble proteins contained in this wort and facilitates the sedimentation of the proteins and therefore the clarification of the beer.